Author: bpeachman

So eight and a half hours of waiting for this project to render was… Invigorating, shall we say. I decided to follow a different path with the flow of the animation, as I wanted to mix it up a little to what is usually done with the project. I focused on just having one crab in my video, and along with the treasure chest, made him my focal character in the story.

Like I said in the first blog post, I’m vastly unfamiliar with 3DS Max and all that comes with it. Trying to figure out how to work the cameras was extremely time consuming, but it was fun in a way. Learning how to set up lights was a bit of a challenged as I had some weird shadowing effects going on for a while, I however I did manage to overcome that slight hiccup.

I went with ‘Guiles Theme’ for the backing track for this as well, seeing as it seems to go with everything (or so I’ve been told).

Hey Guys, just wanted to drop in and show everyone what I’ve been working on as part of one of my assessments for Uni. I didn’t fully understand how long this would actually take to texture the entire chest. Having said that however, I thoroughly enjoyed working on the fine details like the wood scratches, as well as the divots in metal work.

The UV unwrapping of this project as well was an interesting experience, seeing as I’ve never really used 3DS Max all that much. Learning how to map images onto the chest, unwrapping it and all was thoroughly enjoyable and probably my favourite part about doing this assignments.

With social media forever growing in the modern world, it’s important to continue to provide our following community with our ongoing work in order to further build our online presence. Not only does it allow us to share our material with other industry personnel, it also provides us the opportunity to gain knowledge on other techniques to advance our current skills, be apart of industry conversations, and allows us to observe the creative processes of our admired practitioners.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of social media. I’m fairly vocal about enjoying my private life and find that sites such as Facebook to be mundane. They limit our human interactivity by saying it’s okay to sit behind a computer and befriend someone without having face-to-face meetings with them. Today’s younger generations seem to forget that having people skills are just as important as how you hold yourself online. However, I do understand that it’s a vital part of the career path that I’m hoping to pursue. With the evolution of technology and knowing that a lot of the major animation studios aren’t in my current residential location, it’s important that I take advantage of the opportunities that social media presents. I need to push out my work and show the world what I’m capable of in order for me to garner any recognition. For example, with a lot of my assessments for uni requiring me to write blog entries, I’ve taken up using WordPress as my chosen place to share my thoughts. I also have an About.Me profile set up to act as my online resume. Facebook has also been useful for me to post some of the artwork that I’m working on.

By being a member of the online community, it provides opportunities to connect with industry professionals and, if all goes well, gain access and invitations to attend functions and events that people in my chosen field may go to. If this turns in your favor, it can potentially allow you to gain more recognition and eventually land you a proper job. But like I have previously mention, it’s still important to maintain your people skills, as they’re just as important as your online presence.

To conclude my report on Social Media and how it’s going to affect my career, I must put more effort in to being active in the creative industry. I must make my presence known and strive for my future employers to see that I’m a dedicated and hardworking concept artist and animator. I can benefit this company by my professionalism, my personal skills, as well as my talent that I’ve been able to demonstrate on my social networks so I can make large contributions in future projects.

With everything on the internet these days, everything is analysed. From images, to videos, articles and news sections, even social media is used to collect data. Now, before you start panicking, I want to make it clear that it’s not as dramatic as it might sound. It’s all about demographics. Please, let me explain.

In this lecture we discussed how data is used to better understand the consumer environment and further assist in business’s to generate revenue. I understand that some might view this as an invasion of privacy, however data collection is a vital part of the creative industries as it allows companies to have a clearer picture of what the mass public are after, which in turn makes it even more profitable in the long run.

Take Google for example. The worlds most visited site is renowned for its collection of data, and they’re not shy about it. Every time you visit their website, searching for something through their search engine, it instantly makes a note of what your activities are and compares it with the rest of the world. They use this information in order to help promote products that are tied in with their company. There are multiple ways of doing this, but one that always manages to drawn everyone’s attention is advertising. Those annoyingly pesky pop up’s that you get whenever you try to watch a hilarious cat video on Youtube, or when you’re just going through your news feed on Facebook, they will be plastered everywhere you look. This is their plan. Collect all your activities, and try to tease you with other similar things in hopes you’ll unload your pay into their pockets. I myself may have succumb to temptation more than once (but hey, I got a Bearded Beanie out of it, so money well spent, right?).

One gaming company I’d like to highlight with their data collection intrigued me. Telltale Games choose to collect data based on your decisions that you make throughout their games, so by the time you finished the game, you can compare your choices with everyone else. I always find it fascinating to see what I did that was the same and differently from the majority of players. It made me want to play those games again and again just to see what would happen if I went down a different path. I truly loved it, I thrived on it. Talking to many of my friends as well, they seemed to be impressed with this data. This proves that it’s not all invasive. Sometimes, it’s just to have a little fun.

Data collection may seem like it’s invading your privacy, and no I don’t agree with every aspect of it, but I do understand that it’s a vital part of creative media. Without it, it would prove to be difficult to discern what people are looking for. Whether it’s games, movies and television shows, art or music. It allows us to target specific consumers that would be interested in our projects. Though I don’t want to know what every bit of detail about people, I would however like to obtain data based on the consumers I’m looking at targeting for my own projects.

The following embedded video has Kevin Slavin discussing how data is shaping our world.

Being a critic isn’t a “new thing”. It’s been around for centuries, as I learnt in our lecture, it began way back in the days when the French Royal Academy first opened in 1737. To this day, critics still play a heavy role in the world, especially in creative media. Sure, you can say that we’re all capable of being our own “critic”, but what most people don’t understand is that there’s a fine line between being a critic, and just your average reviewer.

Having your work appraised allows you to understand what you did well, and how you can improve yourself and your projects for a later date. In a sense, it’s like an involuntary education. If critics reviews are well written and concise, you’ll find that they will convey the pros and cons of what you have done in a professional and ethical manner, which will further assist in your overall productivity. This sort of feedback is crucial in knowing if your work is going to be a successful, or an absolute flop. It’s a critics job to dissect every detail of the media they’re presented with. On the flip side, you’ll find that the consensus’ voice cries louder than a critics whimper.

Reviewers are made up of the general public who express their own opinions on the product they choose on any form of media. These days, you’re more likely to find reviews on the internet. A “review” is based on how the production affected that particular individual. Since not everyone is going to enjoy the same things, you tend to find that each person will react differently. Some even become so impassioned that they go to the extremes of threatening those who worked these projects. One particular incident I wish to highlight is the GameSpot’s review on Grand Theft Auto V. Written by Carolyn Petit, she highly praised the game for its innovation, wondrous open world, the characters and much more. The one issue she found? That it was misogynistic. Sure, these days we’ve come to expect that from a GTA game. It’s rough, gory, and they creators aren’t afraid to push the boundaries. Having said that, the public’s reaction to her comments in regards to the treatment of women in the game, in my opinion, was excessive.

Grand Theft Auto V Wallpaper

Carolyn Petit’s comments at the time sparked thousands of people into a wild scorn. Not only did people petition for her instant dismissal from GameSpot, some even went as far as to threaten her and her family. The worst part is? Once one person had made the threats, others followed suit. Que vicious cycle of rage and torment. Now, don’t get me wrong, I truly value the thoughts and opinions of the general public. In fact, I’m willing to go as far as to say I hold both at about par to one another. Everyone has different tastes and experiences that would base the outcome of the critique differently for everyone. So what appeals to them will be different. It doesn’t matter if you get paid for it, or if you just want to express yourself. What I like to remember is that everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Reviews and critiques are an important part of what we do. It helps us to develop higher quality work and to allow you to improve for later projects. The problem I face? Separating my personal emotions for my work with my professional ethic. I will learn to separate the two to save myself the extra stress and heartache if things don’t go as swimmingly as I originally predicted.

We creative media folk have an entire array of choices when it comes to how we source our income. These can range anywhere between freelancing, consumer sales, crowdfunding which aren’t exactly stable options when it comes to payment and working opportunities (I’ll get to that later), or if you’re lucky enough, you can land yourself a full time position at a pre-existing company. but when it comes down to it, you’ll most likely find yourselves doing more than one of these in your career.

Currently I’m working two jobs, and although this is required in order to financially support myself whilst I study, it also has proven to be difficult to manage with the ongoing pile of assessment that seems to be creeping into sight. I find myself becoming more and more exhausted as the weeks roll by, and I’ve still yet to find time to just have a day off to make a dent in my course. I originally was planning on starting a career in games (as that’s where I find a lot of my inspiration is drawn from, and though I’m doing an animation course instead, I still want to branch out into games in the future. Having said this however, it’s still going to prove difficult to jump into a stable job without any proper experience outside of university. I would like to explore my options before settling into a full time job. Working on my own projects so I can later add to my portfolio would most likely be the best bet of ensuring I keep landing work. It will allow me to demonstrate the skills and my design process that I’ve spent so much time trying to improve, and if this proves fruitful I can venture out into freelancing.

Freelancing, though it can be impractical in the sense that it provides inconsistent available work. It can however, allow you to work on a variety of unique projects that you would otherwise miss out on if you were to have a full time employment status. With these unique projects come new experiences and learning curbs.

Talking to my fellow students on campus, I’ve discovered that a lot of us aspire to working in pre-existing companies rather than starting up their own. Including myself. I dream of one day being a member of studios like CD Projekt RED, who are notoriously know for The Witcher series (which if you haven’t played yet, I highly recommend). Created in honor of Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series of the same name, CD Projekt RED have managed to successful capture the beautifully treacherous, and mortally consuming world that’s the unnamed continent. This sort of inspiring gaming is something I want to do. I want to inspire others. Unfortunately for me, in order to work at a successful studio such as that, I will most likely have to move overseas, since there isn’t a lot of variety when it comes to such places here in Australia.

Although the likelihood of getting full time employment with a steady income once I graduate is not in my favor. I will however, continue to work on my own independent projects to keep my portfolio fresh and up to date. Once I’ve managed to build a stronger reputation, perhaps spread out into freelancing and work on variously unique projects until hopefully landing a full time job at a successful studio.

Recently during one of my lectures for my class, I discovered that no matter what discipline those of us in the creative industries have chosen, it seems that we all share similar work life traits. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Games, Audio, Film, Graphic Design or like myself, Animation, we all seem to have the same advantages and disadvantages of working in media. From the outside world we might come across as being creative yet diverse individuals who act in informal ways and proceed to working long and sometimes unusual hours, and though these are valid points, from the inside it’s still a lot deeper than that. We’re determined and passionate about what we do, we strive to succeed, despite the repercussions that it might cost us to get to the finish line. We’re quirky and sometimes elaborate, like being creative or ingenuity in creating something different. But in the end, we all just love what we do for a living.

However, despite being ambitious, the quality standards that all creative industries are after is staggering. Yes, we are people who are willing to work long hours to get the job done, but we still risk the potential of doing so with little pay. Not only this, we’re also left with the prospect of having ‘No Future’, which in all honesty, is absolutely terrifying to me. Despite wanting to be a concept artist, I’m still left wondering if that’s what I still want to be doing ten years from now, or even if I’ll have any form of a proper career in animation. Like everyone, I’m left in the chilling darkness of uncertainty.

Currently I’m working two jobs in retail, one as an Assistant Manager and the other as a casual, but prospective assistant manager. In my assistant managers role, it’s expected of me to work long, strenuous hours. Even some of the overtime is not recognised as “paid work”. Since I work for a small business as well, I’m receiving the absolute minimum pay for someone of my age and position. From this class, I’ve discovered that my current working conditions and what I aspire to being doing in animation won’t be all that different. But one major difference? I will love what I’ll be doing.

In order to carve your own way into the Creative Media Industry, you will have to be willing to sacrifice your time, and push yourself to work at the absolute best of your abilities in order to hold your own. Without this drive, it will be increasingly difficult to make a career in this industry. Not only this, you have to be able to adapt to the changing times. Like with learning, it’s important that you stay up to date with current techniques of animation and the technology that follows suit. The time you dedicate to your work will also have an impact on your future aspirations. The more time you’re willing to dedicate to finishing a project, the higher quality it will be. If your efforts come across to your employers, or even future employers for that matter, it will help to persuade them of your value and character as a hardworking individual.

Coming into this course, I knew that I would have to be committed and 100% dedicated to ensuring that I’m on the right path to success. Despite knowing that it would be challenging to place my mark upon the industry, I still found it quite daunting to have read this in my lectures. Knowing the hurdles and obstacles that I’ll have to overcome. But that’s the thing, I will overcome them. I’m ready to venture out into animation, and begin laying down the foundations of what I hope will be a successful and prosperous career. I already know what it means to sacrifice, I’ve been doing in for the last three years. I know what it means to work long hours, most of which won’t be recognised, and they pay? It won’t matter how much or little I earn. I want to be doing something I have a passion for. I want to inspire others in what I can create. To quote famous cartoonist:

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
– Scott Adams

We all stumble in our lives and make mistakes. It’s what we do as humans. It’s how we learn to keep pushing ourselves. I’ve made my mistakes, especially with my past career choices. But I know, coming into this Bachelor of Animation, that I’ve made the right decision.

For my fourth and final part of my 3D Pipeline series, I have decided to inform the world of what and who has inspired me to continue my studies in animation.

Since the release of the immersive and beautifully designed world of Mass Effect (2007), it has continued to leave it’s audience in awe, keeping them captivated and entranced as they continue to explore the galaxy. Even after completing the game countless amount of times during the eight years since it’s debut. The amount of choices in designing my very own Commander Shepard is overwhelming and I’m more often than not spending most of the time creating my desired look, rather than making most of the choices that are provided throughout the game. The third installation, Mass Effect 3, continued to captivate me, especially with the improved and updated animation that was lead by Scott Mitchell. He has really impacted the 3D animation of the modern gaming world.

By all rights, role-playing games such as ME have been around for far longer than the originals release in 2007. However, the depth in the story as well as the concepts and design of the world has lead it to be one of the most outstanding series’ in modern gaming. The characters alone are enough to keep drawing me back for more.

One of the main animators of Mass Effect 3 was Scott Mitchell is one of the reasons why I wish to pursue a career in Animation. I have tried exploring his techniques for drawing and creating characters, so I can further advance my own skill. He’s also responsible for working on 2014’s Far Cry 4, also for the expansions that followed Mass Effect 3, suchas From Ashes and The Citadel Expansion just to name a few.

Embedded below is one of my favourite cutscenes from Mass Effect 3, which further provides proof of the immersive and characters that are in the story.

Lighting

For the 3D scenes to really take effect, digital lights must be placed into the said scenes. It illuminates the models, exactly as lighting rigs would work on a movie set, bringing out the actors and actresses. This is probably one of the most technical phase of the pipeline production (after rendering). There is a strong amount of artistry involved in this step.

– Proper lighting – it is important that the lighting is realistic enough that it’s believable to the audience, but dramatic enough to bring out the director’s vision.

– mood matters – the lighting to each scene will help the desired mood that the director intended, it gives control over the textures painters when it comes to the important details of colour scheme, mood and the atmosphere.

-Back and Forth – the texture and lighting artists work very closely together as communication between them is important. If something doesn’t work right then it will send off the wrong mood or feel to the 3D animation.

Lighting allows to you to control everything in the scene, from where the sun will be placed to the light glow of a night light in a child’s bedroom. In the lighting step of the 3D pipeline production you control most if not all light elements in the scenes and shots of the production. The skill of lighting in a 3D modelling would become easier the more the skill is practiced as it can portray the exact feel you want to give your audience.

Rendering

Rendering and lighting are very similar as rendering can actually texture some parts of the 3D model. In rendering your scene is taken (or what your camera sees) and crop files for a variety of uses (e.g. final shot, the animation, etc.). Rendering varies in time limits, it all depends on: the quality of the render, the complexity of your scenes and how strong the computer that is being used.

The steps in rendering are:

– set up an environment
– tweak the render settings to add shadows
– adjust the quality until you get your desired end result.

Rendering refers to the process of building output files from computer animations. When rendering an animation, the program used to make it, takes the components, variables and actions in the said animated scene. It then builds a viewable result for an audience. Rendering can start from a single image to multiple images/frames saved singularly and how strong the computer that is being used is.

Compositing

Compositing uses multiple sources to integrate images into a single and flawless whole. Most of these techniques are used on still images, we will mostly be focusing on the tools and methods used which are helpful and reasonable for large amounts of images.

Some of composting layers involve, both live-action footage or photographs and virtual computer-generated images which are then put together and composited into a single image/scene. This type of compositing creates still images that have different components into a single image. This can sometimes be used in post-productions of film and or television programs to composite different layers into the video sequence. 3D compositing is can be different to 2D compositing in a way where the layers can interact to give a more realistic effect on each other.

There are 3D compositing software which has input from warious sources. Usually involves multiple input files (Still images, video files, etc) that are assembled and layered during the process. An example of this is the assembly of an image characterizing a boat floating on water, in front of a cliff. It can be as detailed as having other cliffs, clouds and other background images as desired. The final image would have everything together in a single, flawless image (though each part would have it’s own source).

UV Mapping

Before applying any form of texture to a model, it’s important that the created 3D object is first flattened into a two-dimensional representation of the meshing on the surface of the object. This process is known as UV mapping or unwrapping. For any animator, UV mapping is an important skill as it requires utmost accuracy in order to apply realistic textures on polygonal surfaces.

Texturing and Shaders

The models (or assets) are at the next step called texturing and shaders. In this step colours and textures take over the ‘grey-look’, commonly known as the default shader. A texture artist’s job is to work with what is referred to as ‘shading material’. When applied to a 3D model the texture artist is then able to control elements such as colour, reflectivity, shininess and much more along those lines. This then gives the 3D model a more realistic look with the colours and materials applied.

In the link provided, is a video in 3ds max on creating realistic snow using textures and shaders.

Rigging

Rigging is one of the very important steps in 3D animation. The technical director prepares the freshly made 3D character for bone structure and linking control points. With the bone structure, the technical director places the underlying skeleton ( bone structure) for the model that helps connect the linking points. Once the bone structure is put in place the control points are connected and the animators can then control the movement and form of the character’s legs, arms and any other movable part of it’s form.

Animation

Up into the final stages of 3D animation. The rigged assests are animated and controlled to bring out the desired shot. There are many steps that go into creating flawless animations, but during the final stages of the animation you start to see the final pieces fall into place. With using a timeline, the animator’s job is to set the character’s movements in frames that can be caused in a flowing animation.

Animation varies in it’s deliveries such as two gears meshing together to creating a complex character performance that can be viewed in today’s 3D animated films. 3D animation was inspired by the original 2D animation and uses the same approach as the flipbook animation. The only difference instead of fashioning a new pose on separate sheet of paper, the 3D animators produce different poses on a series of fixed images (which are referred to as frames). Animators can create the illusion of movement by designing alternate poses which are then played continuously in a certain amount of frames. The animators of a 3D animation have the most important job in the entire setup of a 3D production, as they make the audience believe that the characters, objects and world are a believable reality.

The link provided below is a complete short animated film called ‘Pigeons’ which will assist in demonstrating the final result of a functional animation.